SCOTT THRELKELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEChance Wilson of Lagniappe Tree Works cuts down a live oak Tuesday in Mandeville. The tree was growing at an angle that the homeowner said made it impossible for her to get insurance.

A tree company on Tuesday cut down a live oak in old Mandeville after city planning authorities concluded it posed a danger to the home over which it towered. In a community that values and protects its leafy canopy, the decision came about only after weeks of debate and negotiation.

Dr. Christina Leal, who bought the house at 216 Lamarque St. last November, had sought the city's help last month when her insurer advised her that it would cancel her homeowner's policy unless the tree, which grows almost sideways over part of the house, was removed.

She said Allstate wrote her a policy when she bought the house but that Allstate's underwriting firm, Occidental, later inspected the house and said the policy would be canceled unless the tree came down.

Because the city requires permits for trees to be removed -- and specifically protects live oaks -- Leal's insurer instructed her to seek a tree removal permit from the city.

"I love my house. I love the tree," she said. "But no one would write me insurance with it. And I have to have insurance."

City Planning Director Louisette Kidd said the tree was hardly what could be termed a "specimen" -- its limbs had been cut over the years and it was growing at a precarious angle -- but that the city's arborist nonetheless declared it in good condition and said the removal permit should be denied.

Leal said she and the city tried to get the insurance company to reconsider.

"We went back and forth with them," Kidd said.

But to no avail.

With her Allstate policy set to be canceled, Leal said she shopped around for another carrier. But she said every company told her the same thing: No policy with that tree hanging over the house. She said few companies are writing new policies in the area, which is near Lake Pontchartrain, and those that are "are being very picky about what they insure."

After the Allstate policy was canceled while the back-and-forth continued, Leal said she was able to get another policy with Liberty Mutual on the condition the tree come down.

After inspecting the tree herself last week, Kidd said she agreed that the tree poses a potential danger. She said that the angle in which it is growing puts the heaviest section of the tree right over the house. Kidd said the weight of the tree was causing it to "heave," or pull out of the ground.

"We didn't want to just get into a situation where we approved the removal because the insurance company said so," Kidd said. "But this really is a situation where the tree was a safety hazard."

The city late last week granted Leal a permit to remove the tree.

Kidd said the city rarely gets requests to take down live oaks because Mandeville residents generally value trees.

"They're (live oaks) protected because they take so long to grow," she said. But, she added, if there's a safety issue involved the city tries to work with homeowners.

A crew from Lagniappe Tree Works of Bush cut the tree down Tuesday.

"I hate to see it go -- I just don't know what else to do," Leal said Tuesday evening, adding that she will plant another live oak in her yard.